Florida basketball team to go on barnstorming tour with three other schools in 2018

Gators, Michigan State, North Carolina and Texas to play in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles

The University of Florida basketball team will be part of a four-team, three-city barnstorming tour in December of 2018, along with Michigan State, North Carolina and Texas.

The brainchild of Michigan State athletic director Mark Hollis, the tour will make stops at Madison Square Garden in New York on Dec 15, 2018, travel to Chicago to play at the United Center three days later, then go to Los Angeles to play at the Staples Center on Dec. 22.

The exact pairings haven’t been decided, but each team will play a game at each site. All of the teams will even travel on the same chartered plane.

Hollis told espn.com on Wednesday that the athletic directors and coaches at the schools “are all excited about the opportunity for the student-athletes.”

“It’s a very cool idea,” Michigan State coach Tom Izzo said. “At first, I thought it was crazy.”